ANK Audiokits Have Arrived! Follow the Build Here

Thanks David. At least I know now what the deal is.

 

I already have:
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...w-the-build-here.412340/page-12#post-13052373

A bit plain looking compared to yours, but better than I ever thought I would be able to finish them . The cabinets are very well made to begin with. You have to hand it to the Canadians - they know how to work with wood. The cabinet maker apparently chose the best looking plywood for the baffles, but they look fine all around. I'm almost sorry to put the stand spikes into the bottoms.

 

How did I miss that post? They look great! Did you get the AN stands? I did not use the spikes into the bottom with mine, instead I used six pea size balls of Blu Tack between the stands and speakers and they are stuck solid to the stand. This was recommended by Audio Note.

 

Thank you, Ray. Yes, I've got the Audio Note stands. They are HEFTY! Good to know the speakers stay put just on blu tack. I plan to let the upper spikes peek out of the plate just a bit to hold the blu tack in place. I hate spikes in general - they make speakers hard to move - and I am an obsessive speaker shuffler.

Have you filled yours yet? Sand or lead? I'm thinking small (bird) lead shot ...

 

I don't think the spikes should go into the speaker at all. Blu tak is what the manual calls for. The spikes are for the stands to go through the carpet.

 

There are two sets of spikes on the stands:


The large one on the left is for the floor, the small on the right is for the speaker. AN suggests to put a ball of blu tack on each top spike to help secure the speaker to the stand.

 

I filled mine with a combination of #9 bird shot and play sand (both purchased from Amazon). I played with positioning the speakers before filling the stands (and of course, more after- I am also an obsessive speaker shuffler). I strongly recommend against using the spikes between the speaker and stand. I got a much better seal between the speaker and stand without them- you literally have to try really hard to remove the speakers from the stand with just the blu tack. I have laid the tipped the speaker over to lay it on the floor to work on it and the speaker and stand didn't separate. The spike with blu tack is pointless as there is not enough surface area on the spike to adhere to the blu tack. But do whatever you feel is best- maybe try both and see which you prefer.

 

I just checked the AN-E manual and it says to use Blu tack to attach speaker to the stand but does not say to put the Blu tack on the spike.

 

I made mistake. It is not in the AN manual. It is on the build example site linked to from the ANK site:
http://www.mostlyaudio.com/Spk03_ANSpeakerStands.html
But I like your blu tack-only solution better. I won't use the top spikes.

 

Have you been able to confirm with ANK that the cones are not hemp?

 

Yes, they are paper. It was a mix-up. Working on an exchange for the correct hemp ones...

 

Glad you got a resolution in the works.

 

Skip the small, top spikes. Just use a pea sized blob of blutak at each corner.

 

I have just finished the build. Finally!

 

Nicely done. They look great!

 

That looks really nice! Now you just have to put a few hundred hours on them and they will really come to life : )

 

Thanks guys! It was an epic. I placed the order for the kits 08/11/2015. Once I got the right kit, the build was relatively easy. The most difficult was the finishing and, as Ray also mentioned, fitting the bottom wadding so that the port tube would not be blocked.

I have already started on it . After only two hours play time, I am already impressed with the imaging, dynamics, and, surprisingly, bass. The AN-Es have some big shoes to fill, (literally - my Tekton Enzo XLs have dual 10" woofers) - and I like the bass from the AN-Es very much already. Quick, tuneful, good slam. And I haven't even filled and spiked the stands yet! I will do that after some initial breaking in and shuffling around. Imaging is absolutely glorious. Wide sweet spot, stable image, wall of sound. Just lovely. The treble is a bit raw, but I expect it to mellow with break in.
All in all, I am very happy with them so far.

 

I haven't had the raw treble to be honest, but mine are factory models. I will say that they really do go through quite a transition during the first few hundred hours. When they seem to settle down for good, you will be amazed that they are just really well designed two way speakers.

I have been enjoying mine more and more every day. Honestly, they are so musically rewarding that I am having a different experience compared to the various speakers I have owned over the years.

 

It has been quite a ride for the past couple of days. When I get new speakers, it usually takes me a while to warm up to them. I shuffle them around, change sitting positions, swap the old ones in a few times to compare, etc. Not with these Audio Notes. I've just been flipping record after record wondering what the next one is going to sound like. The treble is now as smooth as you'd want. I think it was my ears getting used to them after the Tektons. This morning I did move the ANs all the way to the face wall and toed them in more, but I think so far I like them more about 10 inches from the wall and toed in straight at the listening position.

I have ordered 50 lbs of #9 skeet shot to fill the stands with - these are tiny lead pellets about 2mm in diameter, so I plan to fill with just them and avoid messing with sand.

I already do. They ruined me for other speakers

 

They look great! I also didn't fill in my stands until I settled on the position. I used 25 lbs of #9 skeet and sand. If I were to do it over I would just do more skeet and skip the sand, so you are on the right track. One thing I found is I had to retighten the speakers in their mounts after a few days as the blu-tack settled in, so you may want to check that, but don't make them too tight.

 

I have only lead shot in my stands. Initially I tried other filling options, but I have been most happy with the lead shot. I suspect that you will be too.

Also, I didn't push mine right back into the corners (for good), until a few hundred hours had passed. Too much upper bass and lower mid energy at first. Your room and speakers may react differently though.

 

Thanks, Ray. Yes, I have also re-tightened the drivers . I hope I have not overdone it. I have also spent a fair amount of time peering into the port hole with a flashlight worrying about the wadding falling to the bottom and blocking the hole. It hasn't so far, but I wonder how long it will stay put. I was tempted to fix the ends of the bottom wadding to the sides of the cabinet, but AN says don't so I didn't.